Sycarton
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- Sep 1, 2017
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I think that the sense of worry that we haven't done enough is good for us. It drives us in prayer to the Lord for Him to search our hearts to make sure that we are genuine and not hypocrites.
The problem people are those who think they have done enough and they start depending on their self-righteousness to remain acceptable to God.
Conversion to Christ is the transformation that the Holy Spirit does in response to our faith and trust in Christ, and our determined and earnest seeking of Him to do the work in us. That is the grace and mercy through faith part.
But once conversion has happened and we have received mercy, forgiveness, and the transformation of our heart, spirit, and mind, then our continuing Christian life is based on what we do. This is what James teaches. He says that true "religion" or Christian living is keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, and looking after needy people. These are the works that show that we are genuinely converted to Christ.
The process is this:
1. We believe the Gospel, repent of all known sin and turn to Christ
2. We seek God for the transformation that comes through conversion.
3. We follow Christ and do the things He tells us to do.
The first two are "being saved by grace, and not of ourselves, it is the gift of God".
The third is reading the Bible and then "doing" it.
After conversion, being strict about holy living is not legalism to try and be acceptable to God, because through conversion we are already acceptable and have the righteousness of Christ, so that God does not see us as sinners any longer.
We are strict because we love Christ and want to be the best we can for Him. Sure, we will have a battle with our fleshly desires and reactions, but we don't let them dominate us, and if we had the choice, we would not want them. They would be like a stone in the shoe, or grit in the eyes - an annoyance to us.
So, cause your sense of not doing enough be the motivation to prayer and getting in the Word of God and tightening your grip on Christ as your only hope. There is a sense of hating yourself, because you have the sentence of death in yourself that you should not trust in yourself, but in God who raises the dead. (somewhere in 2 Corinthians 1).
When I read what you wrote, my first reaction was, "Praise the Lord! Here is a genuine and healthy Christian believer!"
Christ sought out sinners, they didn't seek him. You're making it seem like we have to seek God and wait for his response. We do need to pursue God but He already accepts us through faith
"“Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life.” Psalm 23:6 (The Message)
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20"
Our debt has been paid. Therefore we are clean in His sight.
Romans 3:10-12
"10 As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”"
Yes we need to do what God says but it sounds like you are trying to be righteous by being strict in holiness. Christ is perfect, we are not. Christ makes us righteous because he is.
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